DVAL roundup: Concord gets defensive, cruises past College Park

By Bill Kolb Correspondent

Posted:
11/02/2012 10:33:41 PM PDT

Updated:
11/02/2012 10:58:55 PM PDT

If there was a statement that the Concord High football team was trying to make when it hosted College Park in the regular-season finale for both teams on Friday night, it was this: The defense is ready for the postseason.

The Minutemen stymied the Falcons' persistent running attack, holding College Park to just 169 yards of total offense and seven first downs in a 38-3 Diablo Valley Athletic League pasting.

"It was good for our defense to establish itself before the playoffs," Concord coach Brian Hamilton said. "Our offense did some good things. We still have to fix our red-zone problems."

The Minutemen (8-2, 3-2 DVAL) are all but assured a berth in the North Coast Section Division II playoffs. The only question is where they will be seeded.

With Clayton Valley's resurgent move to the top of the DVAL, and upstart Northgate also having notched a win over favored Concord, the best the Minutemen could hope for would be a No. 3 seed.

The NCS seeding meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sunday.

Concord scored 14 points before College Park (4-6, 2-3) had run an offensive play, capitalizing on back-to-back onside kick recoveries by Daniel Golden to set up scoring runs of 9 yards by Thompson and 3 yards by Uaisele Manoa.

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The closest the Falcons got to the end zone was the Concord 14, where their drive stalled and ended in Tanner Utler's 32-yard field goal.

Clayton Valley 62, Mt. Diablo 6: Joe Protheroe ran for 138 yards and a touchdown in a token appearance, and the host Eagles clinched the DVAL title in convincing fashion.

Protheroe carried just three times, including a 63-yard touchdown on his second carry that put him over the 2,000-yard mark for the season and shattered the school's single-season rushing record, finishing with 2,091 yards.

Clayton Valley (9-1, 5-0) scored on every possession, with six players reaching the end zone. Tanner Wraa scored twice, on a 6-yard run that opened the scoring and a 50-yard pass from Mike Protheroe that gave the Eagles a 27-0 lead with 3:10 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles amassed 497 yards in total offense despite both coaches agreeing to a running clock from midway through the second quarter. Curtis Grant also scored twice for the Eagles, on runs of 3 and 47 yards.

Joe Protheroe came off the field after his final carry of 49 yards to the 5-yard line with a slight limp, but coach Tim Murphy said it was nothing more than a minor bruise.

The Red Devils (2-8, 0-5) avoided a shutout when Isaiah Barney outran Clayton Valley's defense for a 70-yard touchdown on the last offensive play of the game.

Barney finished with 108 yards on eight carries. Mt. Diablo had been held to 46 yards on the ground before that play.

Darneail Jenkins had nine catches for 59 yards for Mt. Diablo.

-- Steve Dulas, correspondent

Northgate 70, Ygnacio Valley 16: The host Broncos made easy work of the Warriors in their final tuneup for next week's NCS playoffs.

Northgate (8-2, 4-1 DVAL) may have earned itself a home game for the first round after a dominating performance, racking up 527 yards of offense on the night.

Quarterback Joe Pelletier accounted for five Broncos touchdowns -- three through the air and two rushing. Running back Fisi Tavake had 110 yards and two touchdowns on just 11 carries. Brandon Lee only touched the ball twice but ran for an 80-yard touchdown and caught a 63-yard scoring pass from Pelletier.

Ygnacio Valley (2-8, 1-4) moved the ball well at times but hurt itself with three costly turnovers.

Receiver Robert Foreman had six catches for 116 yards, including a 36-yard touchdown pass from Jamari Pope. Pope also ran for 114 yards.

The Warriors' only other score came on a 2-yard rush by Khalil Branch.

The Broncos went 8-2 in the regular season for the second time in three years.